Top seal



R. D. HARZA Dec. 18, 1962 J4INVENTOR. ZMa/J Zfia7wa/ TOP SEAL Filed Oct.6, 1958 United States Patent Office 3,068,763 Patented Dec. 18, 19623,068,763 T? SEAL Richard D. Harza, Winnetka, 11L, assignor to HarzaPatents, Chicago, Ill., a partnership Filed Get. 6, 1958, Ser. No.765,665 1 Claim. (Cl. 94-18) This invention is concerned with aconstruction joint as used in concrete highway construction, and moreparticularly with a top seal for such joints.

One of the greatest causes of failure in concrete paved highways is thespalling and breaking off of the corners of the concrete near transverseconstruction or contraction joints in the road surface. Such jointscannot be avoided, since concrete shrinks upon curing, and furthercontracts in cold weather. In addition, it is physically impossible tolay an infinite length slab of concrete. Such joints open up uponinitial shrinking of the concrete, and also upon contraction thereof incold weather. Dirt, pebbles, small stones, and other undesirable objectsenter the open joint. During periods of higher temperatures, as in thesummer, the paving slabs expand and tend to close the joint. However,the dirt, pebbles and stones in the joints cannot escape and causepressure on the concrete corners near the joint sufficient eventually tocause spalling of the concrete. Furthermore, water tends to enter suchjoints and freezing thereof in cold weather causes further forces to beexerted against the corners of the concrete.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to fill construction orcontraction joints with a mastic material. This material must be addedafter the concrete paving has been completed, thus adding an extraoperation. Furthermore, during hot weather, the joint closes andextrudes the mastic up above the plane of the concrete pavement, thusmaking a ridge which causes thumping when a car drives over it. Furtherthumping is caused by differential settling of the adjacent slabs. Thisoften is caused by entry of water through the construction joints whichtends to undermine the ends of the slabs, thereby allowing the slab endsto settle, often to different degrees.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedseal for sealing the top of a construction joint against the entrance ofwater, dirt, and the like.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a top sealwhich is readily installed during the laying of the concrete pavement.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a top seal forconstruction joints in concrete highways, which seal will not at anytime extend above the top of the adjacent concrete.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a top seal forconstruction joints in concrete highways and the like, which seal willat all times completely close the joint, whether the joint be in open orclosed position, and which seal is sufiiciently soft as to accommodate apebble or the like, whereby to prevent exertion of suflicient pressureon the concrete to cause spalling.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a road bed and assd ciated partsillustrating the installation of a top seal constructed in accordancewith the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a part of the structure in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through a concrete pavement with thetop seal in place, the construction joint being shown closed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the construction joint in openposition; and

FIG. 5 is a view on a reduced scale similar to FIG. 3 and furthershowing an adhesive strip used in connection with the top seal duringinstallation thereof.

The top seal 10 as shown herein is made of rubberlike material which isresilient and elastic, and which is highly resistant to aging and tochemical deterioration. The seal preferably is of a synthetic resin,such as polyvinyl chloride, or a synthetic rubber such as neoprene. Theseal it} comprises an elongated extrusion having a pair of spaced apartsidewalls 12 tapering at their bottom edges at 14 into contact with oneanother. The lower extremities of the tapered sections or edges 14preferably are welded or sealed together as at 16 with the same type ofmaterial of which the seal is comprised. The outer surfaces of thesidewalls 12 are provided with longitudinally extending horizontal ribs18. The sidewalls 12 are interconnected by an integral top wall 20having a central depending U-shaped portion 22..

Elongated angle irons or plates 24 having reinforcing flanges 26 alongthe lower edges are mounted within the top seal it) before the bottomedge thereof is sealed at 16. The U-shaped portion 22 overlaps the upperportions of the angle irons or plates 24. Spikes 28 extend transverselythrough the vertical flanges of the angle members 14. The spikes extendalso through the sidewalls 12 of the seal and serve to mount the anglemembers in the seal. The spikes 28 have heads 30 received on the innersurfaces of the vertical flanges of the angle members, and these headsare welded to the angle members as at 32. The opposite ends of thespikes conveniently are flattened to provide points 34 which extendradially beyond the shanks of the spikes in diametrically oppositedirection. The spikes conveniently are on the order of three inches inlength, and are spaced on two to three inch centers. As will beunderstood, both the spikes and the angle members are placed in the sealbefore the bottom thereof is welded closed as at 16.

Installation of the top seal is quite simple. As shown in FIG. 1, theroad bed is identified by the numeral 36, and comprises the usual heavygravel or the like. A form 38 is shown along one side of the road bed,and it will be understood that a similar form is provided on theopposite side. A bridge 40 spans the forms 38 and comprises a pair ofboards or the like 42 in face to face relation. Each of the boards 42 isprovided with spaced straps 44 depending below the lower edge of theboard and having notches 46 in the side edges thereof and near thebottom ends thereof, as best seen in FIG. 2. These notches receivecertain of the spikes 28, whereby dependingly to support the strip belowthe bridge 40. As will be observed, the ends of the bridge 40 areprovided with depending feet 48 resting on the forms 38. Accordingly,the seal 16 is supported with its top edge substantially coplanar withthe top edge of the form 38.

The top seal 10 is installed during pouring of the concrete. The topseal is supported as shown in FIG. 1, and as just described. Preferably,the top seal is provided with an adhesive strip 56 (FIG. 5) along thetop edge thereof whereby to seal oif the U-shaped depending portion 22.Concrete is poured on the road bed 36 between the forms 38 in accordancewith the usual practice, and preferably is compacted about the seal witha shovel. The boards 42 of the bridge 49 then are shifted transverselyof the form boards 38 in opposite directions whereby to remove thestraps or hangers 44 from the spikes 46. The poured concrete 52 then isleveled and smoothed by a concrete finishing machine, in accordance withthe usual procedure. After the concrete has had a chance to set to acertain extent, the adhesive strip or tape 59 is removed, taking with itany concrete particles that might have been deposited on the topthereof. As will be appreciated, the spikes 28 are embedded in theconcrete and firmly hold the top seal in the desired position, Uponcuring of the concrete slab, which may be on the order of twelve feetwide and of indefinite length with the top seals 10 installedapproximately every hundred feet, the shrinking of the concrete willcause the slab to open up or form a crack 54 directly below the topseal. it will be appreciated that the crack will form at this place dueto the thin section of the concrete at such location. Upon furtheropening up of the construction joint formed by the top seal 11 and thecrack 54, as upon wintertime cooling and contraction,

the U-shaped depending portion 22 of the seal will tend to straightenout as in FIG. 4. Obviously, the strip will return to its'initialposition upon subsequent summertime expansion of the concrete.

'The top seal effectively prevents the entrance of dirt, stones, water,and other undesirable substances and articles into the constructionjoint, even with the joint ,fully opened as shown in FIG. 4. .The ribs18 tend to prevent seepage of water between the sidewalls 12 and theadjacent concrete masses. The straightened out U-shaped portion 22 isself cleaning, since dirt, pebbles and the like will be bounced out uponpassage of vehicles thereover. Furthermore, the material is sufiicientlysoft or pliable that even if any stones or pebbles should remain-on theU-shaped portion 22 upon closing of the joint, the pebbles or the likewould be readily'accommodatedwithout exerting undue forces on theadjacent portions of the concrete slab. Thus, the top seal as hereindisclosed prevents the entrance of foreign substances, into theconstruction joint such as might damage the concrete, and furtherprevent passage of water down through the joint, such as mighteventually cause undermining of the adjacent portions of the concreteslab.

, The durable characteristics of the extruded rubberlike material of theseal have been brought out heretofore. Since the angle members andspikes generally will not be exposed. to the atmosphere or to excessivemoisture, it is felt that in general ordinary steel will sufiice.However, for use in wet locations, or with particular types of concrete,it may be found desirable to use a more durable metal, such as stainlesssteel.

of the invention as herein shown and described is for illustrativepurposes only. Various changes in structure will no doubt occur to thoseskilled in the art, and will be understoodas forming a part of thisinvention insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of theappended claim.

The invention is claimed as follows:

A seal as for a construction joint in concrete pavements comprising anelongated hollow 'body of elastic material having a pair of spacedapart, substantially opposite side walls of predetermined thickness anda deformable flexible top wall of substantially the same thickness andjoined to said side walls along the upper edges thereof, and said sidewalls being provided at their bot tom portions with tapering sectionscontacting and sealed,

to one another along their lower edges, said top Wall having anintermediate U-shaped section depending into said hollow body a greaterdistance than said predetermined Wall thickness and straightenabletoward horizontal position upon separation of said side walls, a pair ofrigid plates respectively disposed along the inside of eachof said sidewalls and at least partially overlapped by said U-shaped section, and aplurality of anchor elements secured to each of said plates andrespectively extending through said side walls and adapted exteriorly ofsaid body to be embedded in a mass of concrete or the like, the anchorelements secured to the, respective plates extending in relativelyopposite directions.

References Cited in the tile of this patent. UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHERREFERENCES Permanent Concrete Roads, by Trussed Concrete .Co.,Youngstown, Ohio, April 1, 1916, pages 6-9 inclusive.

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